A comparison of the top 1000 mobile apps versus the top 1000 mobile web properties in comScore’s 2016 U.S. Mobile App Report found that website audiences are almost three times the size and growing twice as fast as app audiences, but people spend one-twentieth the time they do on apps. This Web engagement gap is also poised to grow. Forrester projects “…global web traffic from smartphones will reach 52% in 2019 on its way to 70% by 2025” (Forrester Research, Inc, A Billion Mobile Sites Spark No Joy, September 29, 2016).

With Urban Airship Web Notify marketers can engage website visitors with timely, relevant and interactive messages based on their website behaviors, as well as apply A/B/n testing of messages to optimize performance and build automation rules for individualized messaging at-scale. Web notifications appear whether or not visitors are actively on the website or in their web browser and are highly visible for in-the-moment messaging, appearing in the top or bottom right-hand corner of desktop screens, or just like an app-based notification on Android devices.

“TGI Fridays is already seeing great success with mobile ordering and we’re now expanding those capabilities from our app to our website, where we serve a much higher volume of guests,” said James Washington, Product Manager, TGI Fridays. “With web notifications and mobile app messaging from Urban Airship we can better serve our customers however they choose to interact with us, while also enabling new processes like curbside delivery to keep pace with digital’s growth.”

Urban Airship Web Notify enables marketers to decide when to ask visitors for permission to send web notifications, recommending a more nuanced approach rather than a blunt-force opt-in request on first website visit. Once opt in is secured, businesses can use web notifications to accomplish a variety of objectives, as well as promote other digital brand offerings including their app or a mobile wallet item like a loyalty card or coupon. Some of the top categorical use cases for web notifications, which may complement or replace less immediate forms of customer communications, include:

“Websites have largely relied on email as a way to stimulate customer interactions beyond the first visit,” said Brett Caine, president and CEO, Urban Airship. “Industry data shows email open rates are on the decline and sending more has a detrimental impact on user engagement. Our massive experience with in-the-moment notifications now applied to the Web unlocks a new direct channel for businesses to speak directly to website users and spark re-engagement without relying on intermediaries like search engines, social networks and email filters.”

Support & Availability

Web Notify is available as a standalone solution or as functionality integrated into the message composer and workflow of Urban Airship Engage. Initial browser support for desktop and Android mobile web notifications includes Chrome 52+, Opera 39+ and Firefox 48+.

To get started, businesses only need to add a few files to their websites, including Urban Airship’s Web SDK.

About Urban Airship

Urban Airship is trusted by thousands of businesses looking to grow with mobile. Every day, marketers and developers depend on Urban Airship to deliver billions of mobile moments that inspire interest and drive action. Urban Airship’s mobile growth platform is used by many of the world’s most admired companies, including Adidas, Alaska Airlines, The Home Depot, NBC Universal, Sky Media, and Zillow.